DISC camp counselors honored for heroic response

Emma Deaton, onsite director for the Decatur Indoor Sports Center day camp, and her supervisor, Randy Ellis, DISC assistant manager and day camp administrator, were celebrated during Wednesdays Decatur Park District board meeting for their heroic efforts in helping a camper during a medical emergency.

On July 2, with high temperatures and humidity, a 10-year-old camper had an asthma attack while on a field trip to Rotary Park. “We were having our Luau Day,” Ellis said.

The boy’s mother warned the camp leaders that the heat could cause the condition to worsen. “If he got into a coughing fit or the early stages of an asthma attack, he couldn’t get out of it and it would go full-blown,” Deaton said.

Various warning signs were explained to the camp staff. A headache turned out to be the boy’s first sign, followed by slurred speech, according to Deaton. “Then he started getting worse,” she said. “His reaction time and his responses were getting really slow.”

Counselors stayed with the boy under a pavilion with cool clothes and a fan to keep him relaxed and as cool as possible while his mother and an ambulance were contacted.

Other camp counselors took on the responsibility of keeping the other campers attention during the commotion. “My staff did really well keeping them calm, keeping them quiet and out of the way,” Deaton said.

Shortly after the emergency medical technicians began treating the child at the scene, he went into a full asthma attack, Deaton said. “They got there just in time,” she said. “If mom didn’t tell us his symptoms at the beginning of the week, it would have been far too late.”

The ambulance transported the child to a local hospital with Deaton riding with him and Ellis driving his own vehicle.

At the hospital, the child received various nebulizer treatments and a large dose of steroids to pull him out of the attack. He has recovered from the incident, the staff said.

The counselors’ training helped them handle the situation as well as rebound from the scary incident. “We handled it really well,” Deaton said. “Our staff did really amazing, especially with the training that they’ve had. They really used it.”

The high temperatures and humidity have returned this week, keeping the camp counselors alert. “We’re back to the summer chaos,” Deaton said.

“Back to the summer heat and a lot of kids,” Ellis added.